Tarot Fellow
Starter Tarot Deck by Bennett & George — Your Tarot Journey Begins Here
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Starter Tarot Deck by Bennett & George (US Games Systems) — a thoughtfully designed 78-card tarot deck created specifically for beginners taking their first steps into tarot reading. Clear, illustrative imagery makes card meanings immediately accessible without needing extensive prior knowledge, while the deck respects traditional Rider-Waite-Smith symbolism to build lasting intuitive reading skills. An excellent first deck for anyone curious about tarot, given as a starter gift, or used alongside a beginner’s guidebook for a complete learning experience.
Description:Quick Specs
- Brand: US Games Systems
- Type: Beginner Tarot Deck, 78 cards
- Format: Full 78-card deck with upright and reversed keywords printed on every card
- Best for: Absolute beginners, self-taught learners, intuitive readers seeking a quick-reference deck
Beginner Tarot Deck Designed for Immediate Reading
The Starter Tarot Deck by George Bennett and published by US Games Systems takes a direct approach to the main obstacle facing most beginner tarot readers: memorization. Rather than sending new students to a separate guidebook for every draw, this deck prints the upright and reversed keywords directly on each card's face. The artwork is rendered in the style of antique woodcuts, drawing from both the Rider-Waite and Tarot de Marseille traditions, so the imagery carries genuine historical depth while remaining legible to someone picking up tarot for the very first time.
The full 78-card structure is preserved intact, including all 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards across the four traditional suits. Some simplified beginner decks strip the Minor Arcana down to pip-only designs that tell a new reader very little. The Starter Tarot retains fully illustrated scenes throughout, which means the same visual learning approach that makes the Rider-Waite so pedagogically effective is present here, layered with keyword cues that support interpretation rather than replacing the imagery.
How the Starter Tarot Differs from Other Beginner Decks
The Rider-Waite Pocket Tarot is the canonical original Pamela Colman Smith artwork reproduced in travel size; it carries no printed keywords and assumes the reader will bring their own knowledge to the images. The Starter Tarot is purpose-built for the learning phase, with the keyword layer acting as a scaffold that most readers will eventually graduate past. The woodcut aesthetic also distinguishes it visually from the watercolor warmth of the original RWS, giving it a cooler, more graphic quality that some readers prefer for its clarity.
No separate guidebook is required to begin reading with this deck, which makes it genuinely compact and practical for solo study. Readers who want to go deeper into the symbolism behind each card will benefit from pairing it with a dedicated tarot study text once the keyword associations are solid. This deck is a starting line, not a ceiling, and the illustrated tradition behind it gives plenty of depth to grow into.
How to Use the Starter Tarot Deck
A practical three-stage approach for getting the most out of a beginner tarot deck with printed keywords.
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Start with a Single-Card Daily Draw
Pull one card each morning before consulting the printed keyword. Form your own impression of the image first, then read the keyword as confirmation or correction. This trains visual intuition, the skill tarot reading actually relies on.
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Practice the Three-Card Spread
Lay three cards face down, then turn them over left to right. The keywords give an immediate interpretive framework, but connect the cards into a narrative rather than reading each in isolation. This builds the relational skill good readers need.
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Graduate to Free-Form Reading
Once the keywords feel automatic, cover them with your thumb and work from the image alone. This is the transition point where the Starter Tarot has done its job, and moving to a traditional RWS or themed deck becomes the natural next step.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I carry the Starter Tarot because the keyword-on-card approach is the most efficient way I have seen for someone to get past the memorization wall and into actual reading practice. Most beginner decks either dumb the imagery down or assume prior knowledge; this one threads the needle by keeping full illustrated scenes intact while adding the interpretive scaffold. It is the deck I would hand to someone who told me they tried to learn tarot twice and gave up. Browse my tarot decks collection to see where it sits among other options, or pick up a dedicated study text from my tarot books section to go deeper once the keywords are in memory.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. It prints upright and reversed keywords on every card, so you can begin reading immediately without memorizing meanings. The full 78-card illustrated structure is preserved, which means the learning is genuine rather than a simplified shortcut.
The keywords printed on each card make a separate guidebook unnecessary for basic readings. For readers who want deeper study of symbolism, traditions, and spread techniques, pairing it with a dedicated tarot study book is a natural next step.
The Rider-Waite is the canonical original with no printed keywords, for readers who already know the system. The Starter Tarot uses a woodcut-style design with keywords on each card, built specifically to accelerate the beginner learning phase.
Yes, it is a full 78-card deck with all 22 Major Arcana and 56 Minor Arcana cards. All Minor Arcana cards feature fully illustrated scenes, not pip-only designs, which makes the visual learning approach effective across the entire deck.
